Juice Feasting PDX

Well we have decided to do a “Reboot” on juice feasting and coming up starting on 9/26 we will be undertaking a 10 day juice feast! Of course this will be nothing compared to the 85 days but we hope to post daily here about what’s going on and the before/after effects of this short term feast! Stay tuned!

Well I did it, I broke my feast. I am in the process of trying to finish off 8 ounces of soaked prunes. I’ve managed to get down about 3/4 of the portion. It’s amazing how fast your stomach fills up after 85 days of nothing but liquids! Mary and I took some time at lunch today to make a video breaking our feast, we will be posting that up shortly. In the meantime I wanted to also write some thoughts here.

This has been an amazing journey. We decided to break 7 days early due to several factors. The overall was the timing was right, the juice was not tasting good and we did what we have always done since we started eating raw living foods years ago. whichi is:

We listened to our bodies and gave it what they need, in this case our bodies were saying “FEED US SOLID FOOD!”.

So here we are, in this 6 day transition back into the real world. It’s an amazing journey to detach and go this long without solid foods. It really tunes you into a whole different frequency apart from most of the world. The world is so food centric, it’s more embedded in our culture than I realized.

Parting words for those of you maybe in the same situation of not quite at 92 but also the juice is starting to not sound good is to listen to your body, ask your body is the journey done? Ask your guides, is the journey done? Look for the answers of Yes Or No.

If you get Yes, then you know. Spend time doing this, meditate, take a few days to think it over, make sure also you have a weekend included in those days so your not working or doing your usual weekday tasks. By eating solid food again you are chosing to tune back in. In doing so I know that I am tuning back in with a new insight, a new dicipline, and a whole new outlook on myself, and the world around me!

Stay tuned for videos and post-feast updates!

Day 84 of juice feasting in PDX!

Well I have some bittersweet news today. Tomorrow, Marcus & I will end our juice feast on Day 85…7 days early. Tonight the soaking of the prunes will begin. This experience has been emotionally, physically, and spiritually rewarding! I feel nothing but joy, happiness, gratitude and damn proud of us both!!

Unfortunately, both of our hearts are not in this anymore! I went into some heavy detox after my colonics on Thursday. It was so nice to be able to shake some old stuff up and release it out. The past week and a half the juices have not been tasting good to me and the thought of some of them seriously make me gag. Though I wanted to sit on it and meditate some more before I made the final decision to move out of the juice feast early. I wanted to wait it out to make sure it wasn’t the detox doing it to me. I’m trying my best to get my nutrition but at this point don’t feel that I am. My heart is not in this anymore and my body is not into this anymore. My detox symptoms have subsided but I still can’t see doing another 7 days of juice. I’ve had some signs and feel that they are all pointing towards the exit sign. So this will be a big step tomorrow as a part of me hates to leave the juicing behind. I know this is just fears coming up and I’m spending today processing those fears and also acknowledging all the wonderful things I have learned about myself on this feast. I also know that juicing will always be here for me when I need a break. That may sounds strange if you haven’t been feasting but it will become clear to you when you do your own feast. =) Juice feasting is very powerful. It takes a lot of discipline and self-control that, I for one, have never given to myself. On the other end of the spectrum I really am excited to get back into the world of solid foods so I can take all I’ve learned and apply it to my new health and well-being outlook. I just moved up 5 notches on my ladder for my life purpose. For once in my life I will OWN and take RESPONSIBILITY of my health. Choosing what is right for me, having self-control, self-discipline and realizing that being present is truly possible as humanity and Mother Earth go through all these crazy energies and changes! I’ve also dropped 38 lbs and feel super great…Super Mary! Where’s my cape?? =)

Tomorrow we plan to post a video of us breaking our feast AND before/after pictures will follow! If you haven’t started a feast yet I truly hope you do decide at some point to do so…just feel it out in your whole being honestly and make sure the time is right for you. The journey is not always easy and not always fun but the power you gain for your self will be life changing…I can promise you that!

To better health…cheers!

Day 79 of juice feasting in PDX!
Only 13 days to go! I’m just so full of joy and gratitude today for this whole experience!

At day 79 I’m STILL having some detoxing symptoms! Woah! I decided to get a colonic on Monday (and will follow up with another one on Thursday) since we have been doing the ParaRid. So after the colonics I noticed some detox symptoms coming up. It amazes me that even though I’m so clean already my body or shall I say my colon still has some cleaning out to do. Amazing the junk we can hold onto! No wonder people can be so sick and toxic..and not know how to take better care of themselves! I’ve been transformed into a believer of regular enemas and colonics. With this feast I’ve really been able to see the importance of flushing our systems and our colons on a regular basis.

I’m also having a hard time with my juices. They are starting to taste gross and I feel I have to force the green juices down my throat. So right now mild fruits like oranges and tomatoes are palatable. Coconut water is also treating me kind. This just started the past few days so could be related to the colonic and detoxing. I’m just winging it right now trying to get orange juice, tomato juice, coconut water and spirulina caps down me right now. I will test the water the next few days since I have another colonic tomorrow which may bring on even more detoxing. I just want to make sure I get enough calories and nutrition. I’m thinking about picking up a green superfood tonight to mix in with the orange juice. I could just be burned out on kale and apples…it literally burned my tongue yesterday while drinking my juice…it was so strange!! I don’t want to stop now though and would be bummed to end my feast before the 92 days is up since I’m SO CLOSE! So I will continue to listen to my body and give it what it is wanting or needing. If that means breaking earlier than 92 days then be it. Though I want to be on juice if I’m detoxing…so I will ride this baby out for now!

Did I mention I’m so exicted that DAY 92 has almost arrived! I really just can’t believe this journey I’ve been on. It’s almost hard to explain and describe unless you’ve been on this ride too. There is so much clarity about my health I’ve never experienced before. I’m definitely doing this feast at the perfect timing I need. Don’t know why but I’m always amazed at the “perfect timing” phrase when it applies to me. =)

Alright, until my next blog…cheers to juice feasting in PDX!!

Wow, ok so check this out. We went yesterday to do some colonics since we’re doing a parasite flush. Well the colonic was fine however today I woke up in a heavy detox and have had said symptoms all day. Mary last night couldn’t finish her evening juice and has been having problems today. Wow! And crazy thing is we have another session scheduled in less than 4 days!

After all these days, and just when we thought the detox was over BOOM! here we go! I’m sure it won’t be as long or intense as it was at the start of the feast but, it’s important to note that the last phases of the 92 day cycle might not all be biscuits and gravy!

Wow I am a juice feasting freak of nature! Weigh in today is 153.6 pounds! Go figure! After a LONG freaky week the Sun has returned to the northwest!

Mary and I were having a talk last night about how we keep being told how we have such enormous amounts of determination and willpower to complete this thing. We keep getting asked “how do you do it?”. Well I thought I’d take a little time to answer that question.

Mary and I moved to Portland 6 years ago to leave Dallas, Texas. We left behind big $$$ careers and excessive lifestyles to move to PDX with a 9.5% unemployment rate at the time. But we didn’t come to Portland to make $$$ or continue our careers. We came here because we were pushed to do something to improve our lifestyle and health. In the time we’ve been here we’ve worked through many things, uncovered many layers. Times have been good and bad, up and down. We’ve grown in many ways and transgressed in others. But the original objective hasn’t been off our radar screen which is to continue to improve our health and, optimize our lifestyle both physically, mentally and spiritually.

This juice feast for us has been a huge part of that objective. It was the right time to do it. We have known about juice feasting for a few years now and, even thought about doing one a couple years ago but, it simply was not the time.

This has been an amazing experience and we haven’t even left home. We’ve turbocharged our health and shredded excess weight and have made our insides sparkle! This has not been a fast or a cleanse. This has been so much more. It will be interesting to see the transition back. Not just to solid foods but also to the real world. We’ve successfully withdrawn ourselves from a large part of society in the time we’ve done this. We’ve ignored the parties and other social gatherings. Not because we didn’t want to be around other people but, because we simply were turned out on another frequency.

As we transition back there are going to be so many additional adjustments to make. The way we intake food, the food we intake. The way we eat our food. It’s in many ways like being reborn. Our relationship with food has been torn apart and rebuilt.

Our relationship with libations is also taking on a whole other outlook. In this day and time in our evolution as humans it’s important to be as present and heart centered as possible. Blowing our brains daily on drugs and alcohol is an action that no longer serves humanity, including peace loving hippies. The drugs that at one time served to turn us on are now turning us off to that place of heart center. That place of total stillness, the source of our power.

Limiting libations so that we can remain present and heart centered as much as possible is a huge priority! This isn’t to say there is going to be bad days. In fact, thank god for libations sometimes because there are those days you just need to escape a little bit because at times living this life can be a mother@#$%#$!! However, it’s important we take the time to be present with those around us. The art of being present with others is just about impossible when under the influence, including grass.

So I am aware I’m getting a bit off track so back to the answer to the question of what is the source of all this amazing willpower and determination? It’s simply a continuation of the journey we started over 6 years ago when we stepped foot into a city in the northwest we never had been to before with a truck packed full of everything we owned in hopes of a better life to come. We have not lost sight of that objective and, this juice feast is yet another step into achieving such! Enjoy the sun for those you in PDX and hope to see many of you this summer!

Wow it’s  Day 74! I am in the TEENS! 17 or so more day left to go until I can start putting solid foods back in my mouth! This has really been a great experience overall. Despite the reclusiveness. This time of  year I usually bitch about it being still cold and rainy in Oregon but, if it had been really nice and sunny I probably would of felt like I was missing out on more summer than I am. Summers here are the time of year we all look forward to. Every day is like 80-85 and it gets down in the 50’s at night. We only get so much as from July 4th till Halloween then the rain returns again.

I checked my weight this morning on the scale and I weighed like 154.6! My starting weight was around 185 so that’s an amazing thing! Weight loss wasn’t the primary reason I wanted to do this but it has been a very nice side effect! This juice feasting I would say isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s really an advanced thing to undertake. I wouldn’t recommend it for someone who is just getting off of the Standard American Diet unless they are seriously ill. Now, for someone who has cancer or has serious health problems that is a whole other story. The feast can detox you rather quickly and throughly but I would say that in those cases the person be under a holistic doctors care that is supportive in their efforts.

For myself and Mary we both are in decent health and we’ve been mostly raw foodists for the past 3-4 years so doing something like this was more of a natural progression for us. Don’t get me wrong it has been a very intense undertaking. We’ve withdrawn from a large part of our lives and the world. It was necessary for us to keep our sanity and to continue to move ahead.

When you do this sort of thing your dealing with the physical, mind, emotional and spiritual bodies. The mind can really drive you crazy and as we purge all this old matter out of body by way of detox the emotional body can also go haywire! There have been some moments on this feast I have been an outright asshole and nervous wreck simply due to the unloading of old emotional baggage.

So now it’s time to finish the purge of parasites and start to rebuild! Originally I thought maybe I’d try to take this to 120 days as the day in and day out juicing isn’t all that bad but, no way. It’s time to wind this stuff down been a great journey but bring on Summer!

Day 74 of juice feasting in PDX…and I’m cold!!

Today’s post is going to be about being cold!! This entire feast I have been nothing but cold, seriously. It doesn’t help that Portland has not seen much sunshine the past 74 days! =) So for those who are planning to feast be aware you may feel constantly cold on this cleanse. I really can’t get warm, grrrr. I’m looking forward to warming up after this cleanse…and really can’t wait to get our sun back here in Ptown! I would highly advise you drink lots of herbal teas if you can. I unfortunately do not like tea. I’ve tried time and time again. I’m just not a fan of tea..I find tea very boring…sigh. So I just bundle up, layer my clothes, and turn on the heat. One of my favorite things to do is get in my car for the drive to work and crank the heat and put on my heater seat- sad, I know. =) So yes, cold is where it is at for me! If you live somewhere naturally warm then you should be fine. I’ve enjoyed our moments of sun here and being able to sit outside as it pours over me while I drink a juice. As I write this blog, I’m under blankets, with my sack of heated corn and drinking one of my juices. =) Word in portland is sun is on it’s way the next few days so I will have a most delightful time!

Cheers to juice feasting in PDX!!

Day 71 of juice feasting in PDX!

Last few days have been pretty good mentally, emotionally and spiritually! I seriously am ready to get back to the real world and incorporate all I’ve learned from this and put it into practice. I’ve lost so much weight, yahoo!, but really want to take this break from eating and bring it about into a new lifestyle change for myself. It will complete my goals that I had for this juice feasting. Balance, portion control and moving my butt will be key. Eating a mostly raw, living foods diet will be another. I have some BIG ideas of foods I really want to eat because I’ve missed them but I believe I will have some huge wake-up calls as to what I won’t be able to eat or won’t be willing to eat because they will make me feel like crap. So I will just have to listen to my body and be mindful of what I feed it. If anything, just actually getting to chew on something and swallow sounds delightful! =)

We’ve really moved away from sweet juices. Pineapple juice was a big favorite through this feast but I find it way too sweet to drink now. Watermelon juice is another one that is way too sweet to drink now, makes me gag thinking about it. We get by with our trusty kale and apples still. Plus tomatoes and oranges have been tasting really good to me . Not a ton of stuff in season right now so it’s good to be bringing this to a close as I’m a little bored with the kale and apples. =)

Marcus has been reading that agave nectar is not good for our bodies. It raises our insulin. I will be researching that myself and must say “wow!” to that. Coconut Bliss ice cream was a savior to me kicking my sugar addiction a year ago. Looks like honey might become more stylish.  =) Speaking of honey. We have a local raw honey source here in our little city. It is amazing honey! They have several varieties of honey: meadowfoam, mixed flowers, carrot, blackberry, raspberry, pumpkin. I think we’ve tried most of them and meadowfoam is my winner! So divine! Has a hint of vanilla flavor after a bite.

Well that is all for now…cheers to juice feasting in PDX!